Enough of the up-selling!

I went to lunch today with two of my old co-workers and unfortunately, we had to deal with “The Over-Up-Seller”. Now, I realize that servers will try to up-sell you on some items to increase the bill and therefore their tip. I get that and I normally don’t mind when the server does it, it’s just part of eating out (besides, I was in sales, it's part of the job); sometimes I take them up on it and sometimes I don’t.

However, today we had to deal with a server who insisted on up-selling us on everything that we ordered – and sometimes when we didn’t order. When we ask for tap water, we don’t want bottled or sparkling. When we ask for the traditional guacamole, we really don’t want the trio of guacamoles, even when we’re asked twice. And when our entrees arrive and I’m drinking water (and that’s all I asked for despite being asked twice already), I don’t want to suddenly start drinking fresh fruit juice.

There was another annoying moment with this restaurant as well. My friend Josh ordered a Diet Coke. As with most restaurants, they brought a glass that was fairly small. He finished his drink and when our entrées came, our server asked if he would like another one and he said yes. When the bill came (which was shockingly high for what we ordered for lunch – sorry guys, I was trying to pick a place that was easy for all of us), I noticed that our server had actually charged him for two Diet Cokes - $7 for two Diet Cokes. Now, setting aside the absurdity of charging $3.50 for a soda, if Josh and I both ordered Diet Cokes, or if Josh had just been sitting at a bar, of course you should charge for two Diet Cokes – completely justified. But, does this $7 charge mean that had we both ordered Diet Cokes and asked for refills, we would have paid $14 for four 8-ounce glasses of syrup and carbonated water that did not include alcohol, fresh squeezed juice, or a side of rice and beans? It just seems to me that at any decent restaurant that doesn’t serve soda in cans or bottles, free refills are just assumed. Maybe I’m crazy and just never noticed this before…but I will definitely keep my eye out for this in the future.

Lastly, the churros tasted like everything that had ever been cooked in the deep fryer – at least everything that wasn’t churros. Surprisingly, I had actually read some positive reviews of this place from sources that I respect. However, I definitely don’t see myself going back any time soon.